27 February 2009 Ghost Moss
I love how the ultra-thin depth of field created by aperture of f2 at very close distances results in ghost-like apparitions.
Tiny, tiny
Little bit more depth of field here
Archive for February, 2009
25 February 2009 Evanescent Jewel
Maintaining our all vegetable matter, all the time theme here at Zach awry in Japan. Taken at the same time as the previous two videos.
If you don’t click to expand, then why bother coming here? Why bother with anything?
17 February 2009 Tree and Moss
Many thanks to Jeffrey for loaning me his extremely nice tripod and for fixing my blog (again), after the whole thing mysteriously disappeared today. (Note to self: Back up, schmuck.)
Took this near daycare, in the midst of a light drizzle of snow. Had a lot of fun experimenting with the very thin DOF on my ZF 100/2 while taking the video. Having the tripod sure does allow for more creative possibilities, both in terms of video and stills.
Just seeing the level at which this equipment performs (irrespective of the skill of the operator) is enough to send shivers up my camera-geek spine, kind of like how listening to the revving motor of a ‘53 MG would for a different demographic.
11 February 2009 Yet another form of train to clean up
The other day Maki and Genbo came home from the bookstore not with a book, but with a cardboard train. After Maki spent the better part of an hour putting it together, Genbo half-destroyed it in about 30 seconds. So, I whipped out my trusty duct tape and started reinforcing the connections. As it has seen more and more
abuselove, the ratio of cardboard to duct tape has slowly shifted in favor of the latter. You see the train here in its pristine state.
“ALL ABOARD!”
“If only they’d let me color real trains…”
Coloring in the signal is very serious business
….Or maybe not
Peaking out the window at the scenery rushing by
Of course, Zoe had to get in on the action, too
“Anything Genbo can do, I can do cuter”
9 February 2009 A little light food blogging
One of the benefits of the slow economy is that I get to spend more time cooking great food. Today was the first day in a week and a half that Genbo went to daycare, finally flu-free. I used it by luxuriating in a child-free, quiet house, with just the McNeil Lehrer Newshour to keep me company while I cooked. The entire week’s worth I haven’t been able to watch until today, in fact. It was glorious.
This loaf of bread is a variation on the no-knead bread that has been making the rounds on the internets after being introduced in the NYT last year. This version is about one-third whole-wheat with some dried cranberries to make it appetizing for the kiddies. I’ve been experimenting with ways to make the recipe even easier, and today I found out that if you let the dough rise in the same cast-iron pot you’re going to cook it in, then cook it without removing it first and washing the pot, the entire circumference of the loaf will stick like glue to the pot. Hence the jagged edges all the way around. That was OK, though, since I got to peel the stuck crust away from the cast iron and gnosh on it while I prepared the below.
I used to be intimidated by the idea of making lasagna, until I realized that it’s just red pasta sauce layered with flat noodles and cheese. And, since I consider making pasta sauce by anything less than the gallon a waste of energy, I usually have some left over for lasagna. Genbo requested lasagna today when I asked him what he wanted, and I was perfectly happy to whip up a batch of sauce for it.
This also, of course, helped him get out the door in the morning with no tears. He does enjoy daycare, but he’s prone to forget this fact if he hasn’t been in a while. Today I was able to avoid tears by promising him lasagna and mentioning the fact that if he complained every time I let him stay home for an extended period, I would be less likely to do so in the future (the last couple days he was home, he really could have gone). Maybe I should have taken pictures of carrots and sticks instead.
6 February 2009 A Bleg
(A bleg is a beg performed by a blogger, often in terms of asking for information.)
I can’t help noticing a specific pattern of logic that pops up frequently. I think there must be a name for it, but I can’t find it. Hence the bleg.
Here are three examples: A wife suspects her husband of cheating. Or, I suspect Genbo has been raiding the ice cream while I was giving Zoe a bath. We can ask the suspect if a sin has been committed, but only one of two possible answers will actually contain information. That is, the husband will say “No” whether he cheated or not, so this response essentially conveys no information. Only an answer of “Yes” actually resolves uncertainty. Same thing, of course with Genbo and the ice-cream.
Similarly, assume there is a biomarker for a cancerous tumor. If you have this thing in your blood stream, you definitely have the tumor, as the molecule is created only by the tumor. However, it is possible to have the cancer without the biomarker being detected. So, no information is gained by failure to detect the biomarker. Only through detection is information gained.
Finally, assume that on a given train line there are two colors of trains. The green train could be either local or express, while the red train is always the express. So, if you see a green train coming, it could be either the local or the express. Only sighting the red one resolves information about the coming train.
This pattern pops up often, and I would love to know if there is a name for it. Asymmetrical information would be a great name for it, but that’s already taken by something totally unrelated (as well as by one of my favorite blogs).
Anyone got a clue?
5 February 2009 Genbo Looking Serious
There’s something about public transportation that brings out the serious side of kids. This is Genbo on a ferry.
3 February 2009 Yet Another Leaf
This one really does need to be enlarged for the full effect.
I like leaves, OK? Some people take pictures of forests, some people take pictures of trees, I take pictures of single leaves. That’s just the kind of person I am. It’s similar to my observation that interesting conversation peaks with two or three participants, occurs rarely with four, is a miracle with five, and is theoretically possible with six or more only in the same sense that there is a non-zero chance of retrieving the exact same molecules of a glass of water once thrown into the ocean. During a hurricane.
1 February 2009 Laughter
I just love this picture of Zoe. It very much captures who she is right now. Of course, that will only apply for the next couple weeks or so….